Get in the mood

Getting from A to B has never been as mind-bending as it is in echochrome ii, the PlayStation 3 game which gives the puzzle genre a brand new twist thanks to PlayStation Move compatibility.

On the surface, echochrome ii is a seemingly random selection of blocks suspended in mid-air, but shine a little light on the subject by using the PlayStation Move motion controller in combination with the PlayStation Eye camera and an intricate network of shadowy paths is revealed, along which you must guide the Walker so he can reach the exit of each level.

To help focus your mind on the job in hand, echochrome ii is presented simply and effectively on-screen to help you differentiate between the blocks in the foreground and the shadows they form. A dash of colour is added to some blocks to fit in with a theme and to make it easier for you to pick out areas to concentrate light upon, making echochrome ii as easy on the eye as it is challenging to the mind.

Upbeat background music gets your brainwaves jumping, while navigating the menus is a simple pleasure thanks to slick, clear design. From the friendly tutorials to the step-by-step instructions for creating your own levels, echochrome ii has been crafted to make sure everything is a piece of cake – except for the fiendish puzzles themselves, of course.

Shadow play

Twist and turn the Walker’s world until you can form a clear path to the exit. Rather than grabbing hold of the blocks directly, the PlayStation Move motion controller is used to manipulate the light source in each level – and with some levels containing dozens of shapes and no clear way out, echochrome ii proves to be a maddeningly addictive proposition.

The motion controller is the perfect device to help you solve each shadow-shifting conundrum. After a simple calibration process, PS Move acts as a torch, allowing you to cast shadows which form the ground the Walker marches upon. Perspective and angles of light help to change your perception of a level, while bounce pads, holes and rising blocks provide short cuts – and obstacles – to the goal. With every one of the 100 levels in Play Mode offering an almost unlimited number of solutions, echochrome ii is a superb mental workout.

There are three ways to play each level, each a distinct experience in its own right. See the Walker through a level to his goal objective in Escort Mode, the standard play setting. Echo Mode goes in favour of exploration – collect the “echoes” or silhouettes of the Walker dotted around each level to progress. A more colourful option is Paint Mode, where the Walker is dipped into a colour which you must then daub onto each block until the entire level is either red, blue or green.

That makes echochrome ii three games in one, and all are incredibly absorbing. So get those synapses fired up: echochrome ii won’t solve itself…

Share and share alike

There’s a terrific sense of accomplishment to be had from guiding the Walker to his goal, and with echochrome ii’s PlayStation Network features, there’s no need to keep it to yourself.

Thanks to the YouTube Uploader, you can capture yourself playing a level and upload the resulting video for the whole world to see. Not only will you be able to show how you cracked a baffling level in the blink of an eye, you’ll also be able to look for tips on that brain-busting problem keeping you awake at night.

The sharing doesn’t end with videos of your performances. In Create Mode, you can choose from an enormous variety of building blocks to design your own levels using nothing more than your motion controller and your imagination, then upload them to PlayStation Network. Other players from around the world can then sample your work and even rate it using special stickers.

With a constant stream of fresh ideas from around the globe to pick from, stepping into the shadows has never been so rewarding.